How Time Was Born





Once upon a time very far away there existed a most desolate desert.
Neither day, nor night ever happened there.
Neither animals, nor plants were to be found in it - nothing ever moved
since the desert came to appear in the world.
There existed nothing but the empty sky and the bare ground.
Seasons of the year never changed, the daytime was always dusk.
It was not possible to count the days, therefore nobody could know how
long the desert had been existing.

One day there came two wise men, who entered the desert.
One of them was Shiru - the master of the Northern land;
The other was Atar - the master of the Southern land.

Wizard Shiru stepped into the desert from the left, riding a White Deer.
Shiru liked the cool water and he desired to fill the desert with fresh lakes
and rivers. Beautiful birds should come bathing under the sparkling stars
and sing their songs in the cool air.
Wizard Atar came from the right side riding a Red Lion. He loved heat and
fire and bore quite a different plan to revive the desert.
Atar's desire was to bring light of the sun, so that all plants should start
growing, the trees give fruit and let the animals find shelter in their restful
shadow.
So both the Wizards forced their way ever deeper into the desert, each of
them thinking he would encounter no one else.


Neither of them noticed how much time had passed, but at last they faced
each other in the middle of the desert.
Shiru noticed Atar at a distance and took the figure of the Red Lion for a
dancing flame. On the contrary Shiru, riding his White Deer, seemed to
Atar weightless, as if swimming in the air.
Both wizards came ever nearer and finally stopped in front of one another.
For a moment each studied his opposite and instantly, without saying a
word, they both knew what to do.
They descended onto the ground, aware of being the first men to touch
the empty ground of the desert.
The Red Lion stepped forward and dug with his paw a small ditch in the
dry ground. Atar fetched a golden box and opened it: in it there was the
black, fertile soil of his country. He threw it in the ditch.
Then Shiru took out his silver bottle filled with the cristall-clear water of his
country. He also poured the water in the ditch. After that the White Deer
trampled the ground with his hooves.

They waited in the empty silence.

Soon something moved in the ground: a white sprout broke through.
It was a small ebony tree, which was growing very fast. In a moment the
tree has already become longer than the two masters. It stopped growing,
as its upper branches touched the sky.
On the top of the ebony tree two heavy ebony buds were to be seen.
As the Magicans saw them, they put their hands on the smooth trunk and
started to sing.
The wordless melody was filling the empty air of the desert and shook the
white brunches, so that the two big buds broke open. Golden sun rolled
out of the right bud, a silver moon out of the left one. Both lights slid
lightly onto the sky and found their place each side of the desert.
Also numerous small buds opened and let shining stars out to fill the sky.
Suddenly a cool spring started to flow under the roots of the tree.
Little silver springs spread out in all the directions of the desert. The air of
the desert filled with the breath of life and fresh gras grew out of the
ground.
In the meanwhile the wizard's song became ever louder and happier, till
suddenly sparks flew out of it. These sparks flew in all directions and
became funny animals and lovely birds, which jumped, flew and danced
over the flourishing land.
Soon the whole desert was filled with life.

When Atar and Shiru saw this, they smilled quietly.
Then they mounted their animals again and returned to their own
countries.

The desert lived many happy days after that time.

Daria Naumez
January 2005